Tesla is supporting House Bill 3351/Senate Bill 1659 in Texas that would permit U.S.-based manufacturers of 100% electric- or battery-powered vehicles to sell directly to Texas consumers.
The bill, introduced by Sen. Craig Estes (R-Wichita Falls) and Rep. Eddie Rodriguez (D-Austin), would also enable Tesla to invest in major metro areas of Texas by opening and staffing more stores and service centers.
Under the current Texas Occupations Code, Tesla is unable to sell its vehicles directly to the public because it has no franchised dealer relationships in Texas, or anywhere else in the U.S.
Elon Musk, CEO and co-founder of Tesla, spoke at the Texas Capital Wednesday morning calling for support of a new bill.
“Our goal is to bring electric vehicles to the mass market by telling our story, educating the public about electric vehicles, and delivering the best car in the world. The ability to sell cars through Tesla-owned stores is important for sustainable transportation and is the best chance a new electric car company has of succeeding. Our sales model allows for innovative technology to be more affordable to the broader population in an unconflicted way, without changing the dealer model for gasoline-powered cars,” Musk said.
According to Tesla, “electric vehicles simply cannot be sold side by side with gas vehicles because they will always be a minority item in terms of sales and service volume. Existing franchise dealers have an inherent conflict of interest between selling gasoline cars, which constitute the vast majority of their business, and selling the new technology of electric cars. It is impossible for them to explain the advantages of going electric without simultaneously undermining their traditional business. Simple math shows no traditional dealer is incented to sell an electric vehicle with the same enthusiasm as the rest of their inventory.”
Source: Tesla
